I can fully attribute this new dessert to my frequenting a few vineyards and wineries in the last few weeks. We picked up a few bottles of red wines while we were in Ohio to bring home and enjoy. I love seeing what the locals have to offer and so we were able to have a few impromptu wine tastings during our visit.

In Cincinnati we stopped by a small family-owned vineyard where I had determined that I must try their Ice Wine. We had seen it all over Niagra-on-the-Lake at shops and wineries, so my first tasting request was a sip of what I assumed to be a light, icy, refreshing wine. Wow, was I wrong. I should have known by the smallish bottles and obvious descriptions, but once I have some idea in my head I have a hard time shaking away my own preconceptions. I think Ice Wine has got to be the sweetest wine I have ever tasted. To me, it was pretty awful stuff. I am of the opposite persuasion when it comes to most wines I enjoy, give me the good bitter reds. So, needless to say, we got a bottle of red wine (with a hint of sweet) and left the Ice Wine for another day. (The guy selling the wine kind of chuckled after we tried the Ice Wine…he had given me fair warning!).

The Cincinnati Red Wine is what ended up as the main ingredient in my Raspberry Wine sauce. Since there was a hint of sweet in this particular wine, I took the sugar down 1/4 cup and even think it could have been better with a little less. I used fresh raspberries, thanks to the amazing grocery sale we had this week, but you can also use the frozen persuasion to make the sauce just as easily. After a few bites, all I can say, is this sauce is to die for!!! I saved every bit of it for parfaits and vanilla ice cream for this July 4th weekend.

Also, after straining the sauce I also scraped the mushed up leftover raspberries and saved them. The next morning I had the leftovers on toast and it was quite heavenly. So, if you make this sauce, be sure to save every bit of it!

From our trip last week, my husband was able to get a bunch of beautiful and fun shots of our adventures. From stunning shots of Niagra Falls, adorable shots of my niece, and some cool vintage shots of Niagra-on-the-Lake they are definitely worth a peek!

Here is just one of the many cool photos of Niagra Falls. To see the rest, hop on over to Deviantmonk!

Now, how about some dessert???

As I said before, these are delicious as parfaits or on top of your favorite ice cream. And don’t forget to save the leftovers from straining for jam on your toast!

Raspberry Red Wine Parfaits

Serves 4 small parfaits

Ingredients:

16 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen/defrosted)

8 oz. fresh raspberries (for topping)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 cups red wine (if sweeter wine, reduce sugar slightly)

12 oz. fat-free vanilla yogurt

Garnish: fresh sprigs of mint

Method:

In a large pot (preferably with high side walls) mix together sugar and cornstarch. Next stir in red wine and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. It will begin to boil and rise at this point, continue to stir 2-3 minutes until it begins to thicken.

Next, stir in 16 oz. raspberries (fresh or thawed) and bring the mixture to a boil again, stirring occasionally. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until mixture begins to thicken, then remove from heat. Strain in a fine mesh strainer and pour into a container. Cover and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

To prepare parfaits: In a small glass pour in 1 layer vanilla yogurt, then layer with fresh raspberries, pour in a drizzle of the red wine sauce, then repeat. Top off with a few extra fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint. Serve cold.

I’m assuming that you strain the sauce in Step 2? After removing from the heat, before you refrigerate? Looks yummy. Raspberries are my favorite, thought they won’t be ripe locally until the third week of July (and then again in September).